This is survival, not politics

Thank you Heidi Harmon (“Climate crisis has no party affiliation,” May 22) for your succinct summary of the need to work together to address the most frightening threat to our world: climate change. It is surely here, and we, as the so-called intelligent species, must mobilize to implement solutions now.

The math tells us that the total amount of known, extractable fossil fuel is currently five times the amount we can safely burn. To consider burning beyond that 20 percent is, well, burning the planet beyond recovery. The bottom line is that we must “leave it” and move onto sustainable forms of clean energy. Short-term profit must be cast aside, and investment in new energy forms must replace the old mindset. Viable, cost-efficient solutions exist now.

History provides an excellent example of how we accomplished a similar turnaround. Our country addressed World War II with a national mandate to convert industrial production to wartime needs. The effect was astonishing as we switched gears to produce what America needed to fight and win the war. Existing industries were immediately converted from peacetime to wartime production. As a nation, we were unified, determined, and motivated to meet the challenge of a lifetime.

We now face a new type of enemy, one that we created. This is our generation’s challenge. We must face the facts as time is running out. Let’s unite and support leaders who are focused on taking action to do what must be done. It’s way beyond politics. It’s survival.